D100 gives it to Paisans

[Ted]

I added up all the food and restaurant receipts paid through the D100 superintendent's office.  The time period is July 2011 through March of 2013.

  The total is around $16,000.  The restaurant that gets the most business is Paisan's.  Geez, what's wrong with Michael Anthony? ... LOL

Here are the totals.  Please be clear that not all of these receipts come from the superintendent himself. They are receipts paid through his office that may come from other employees of the district:

Restaurant   Charges
Paisans                $7,152.70
?? - restaurant   $1,108.61
Café De Luca   $786.89
Chew Chew   $771.27
Panera                $539.14
Potbelly                $367.58
PJ Clarkes   $363.66
Caribe                $334.45
Starbucks   $328.13
Corner Bakery   $312.69
Corkys                $312.55
Bodhi                $309.19
Whole Foods   $297.94
Mr Submarine   $251.99
??                $248.16
Franscescas   $218.08
BJs                $211.86
Flat Top                $203.25
Sams Club   $170.83
Dr Pizza                $166.27
Jimmy Johns   $161.09
Cascades Restaurant   $119.88
Lake Creek Grill   $104.12
The Chophouse   $104.02
Meijer                $99.78
Café 0656   $93.25
Capri                $88.77
Tony's Finer Food   $88.21
La Notte   $83.92
Clubhouse   $82.73
Baileys                $80.84
La Cantina   $77.98
Jewel               $72.78
Cascades   $62.82
Dunkin Donuts   $61.09
Food & Nutrition   $60.28
Marx Grille   $57.84
Tipsters               $56.90
Petterinos   $54.88
Chef Shangra-La   $54.73
Freshi                $51.35
Target                $50.95
Connies                $50.04
I Dream of Falafel   $40.59
Atwood                $39.25
P Beedles   $33.51
Elephant & Castle   $31.03
Siam Rice   $28.54
IRD Regular   $22.14
Fine Thai   $21.55
                $21.45
Italian Meats?   $20.57
Sopraffina   $20.44
Stax                $20.21
Quiznos                $12.00
   
Total   $16,584.77

[Fer]

Wow. Doesn't anyone ever bring their lunch to work anymore???   

[Ted]

Wow. Doesn't anyone ever bring their lunch to work anymore???   

I was wondering the same thing - I don't charge in lunches at my work. I pay for it myself.

  If I have a meeting over lunch hour, we all go over to the food court, grab lunch, pay for it ourselves and bring it back.

  The D100 charges were over a 20 month period. That means, on average, $350 per month was spent on Paisans.  That's $90 per week.

  I've been told that the D100 administrative staff go out to Paisan's every Thursday afternoon and the meal apparently gets charged in for the tax payer to pay for. I can understand once or twice a year, but charging it in and making the tax payer pay for it every week is a bit much.

There was one receipt for one cup of coffee from Dunkin Donuts that was for $1.74.  That was charged in.  Apparently, someone making $200K per year doesn't have a couple bucks in his pocket to pay for a cup of coffee!

I was also surprised by the $328 from Starbucks... either the superintendent or someone in his office has a severe caffeine addiction.... LOL

  Also, there was one charge for $50 for Life Savers and another charge from Sams Club of around $40 for Hershey's chocolate!

And, the $363 from PJ Clarkes was courtesy of our elected officials on the board of education for a single meal.  Isn't that like $52 per person for 7 people?

  It makes you wonder what voters are going to think next March during the referenda election when they hear about some of this crap!

  Will voters want to increase taxes if they think the money is going to go to executives and employees in the district to eat more lavish meals at some high class restaurant? 

[Good Time Charlie]

This nonsense won't go unpunished at the polls.

[Ted]

Something occurred to me - does anyone know if someone involved in D100 at a high level (either board members or executives) have a financial interest in Paisans?

  I find it odd that so much business is given to Paisans.

[mustang54]

Something occurred to me - does anyone know if someone involved in D100 at a high level (either board members or executives) have a financial interest in Paisans?

  I find it odd that so much business is given to Paisans.

Ted I don't think so. But I just remembered something. Maybe they order dinner from Paisans to eat during their executive sessions of the board meetings? I know 201 orders in because the meetings start so early the members come right from work. I would guess district 100 does the same and probably a whole lot of districts. What I noticed was a (?) queastion mark on your list for 1100 bucks that said restaurant with no business name. I wonder if that was a dinner I was looking for that I heard about that I didn't see on your list. I'm sure tax payers would rather they spent at local restaurants rather than a place like Gibsons?

[buzz]

   I know 201 orders in because the meetings start so early the members come right from work. I would guess district 100 does the same and probably a whole lot of districts.

and don't those early starts prohibit some people from attending ?

[mustang54]

   I know 201 orders in because the meetings start so early the members come right from work. I would guess district 100 does the same and probably a whole lot of districts.

and don't those early starts prohibit some people from attending ?

No. The public cannot attend executive sessions. Executive session starts at 5 public session at 7.

[Ted]

  Ted I don't think so. But I just remembered something. Maybe they order dinner from Paisans to eat during their executive sessions of the board meetings? I know 201 orders in because the meetings start so early the members come right from work. I would guess district 100 does the same and probably a whole lot of districts. What I noticed was a (?) queastion mark on your list for 1100 bucks that said restaurant with no business name. I wonder if that was a dinner I was looking for that I heard about that I didn't see on your list. I'm sure tax payers would rather they spent at local restaurants rather than a place like Gibsons?

  I don't think the board orders pizza for executive session, but I could be wrong.  I do know the receipts show a consistent pattern of eating out at Paisan's once a week.  There are some purchase orders for large amounts of pizza that appear to be delivered pizza but most of the receipts look like people eating out at Paisans and then submitting the receipt.

  Besides, $350 in pizza per month is a whole lot of pizza.  I can't believe the board alone could eat that much pizza per month.

  One more thing - since D100 had experienced a deficit in the millions of dollars, maybe the board should cut back on that pizza (if there was any pizza).


  As for the receipts for restaurants with no names, 4 of those receipts were for restaurants in Nashville on January 23, 2013. The superintendent and some staff went to a conference in Nashville in mid January 2013.  4 of the receipts are restaurant receipts because it has tip or gratutity on the receipt but no name of a restaurant.

Here are the restaurant receipts for meals in Nashville:

Starbucks in Nashville   $13.54   
Stax   $20.21
?? - restaurant   $124.34
?? - Restaurant   $263.72
?? - restaurant   $41.00
?? - restaurant   $161.69
Baileys   $30.00
Cascades   $119.88
IRD Regular   $22.14
Cascades   $62.82
Baileys   $50.84
Quiznos   $12.00

  The total for meals in Nashville is around $922.
 

[Ted]

and don't those early starts prohibit some people from attending ?

  It used to be the case that the D201 board started the public session right after the executive session so one never knew when the public session would start.  I believe that policy has changed and that public meetings now should start at 7 PM.

[pcm1112]

Wow.  They eat at some really crappy places.

[Ted]

Wow.  They eat at some really crappy places.

There are also some really expensive places on the list - Petterino's and The Chophouse ain't Mickey D's.

[markberwyn]

I recognize that it's not really my place to ask, but: How big a deal is this, really? I assume that the superintendent's office has a budget for meals and entertainment. How much is allocated for that, and is $16,000 wildly out of proportion for two years' worth of expenditures? If it is, there's a legitimate complaint to make with the superintendent. But if the spending is in line with the budget, and you're just unhappy with the amount spent, then you need to take your grievance to whoever is responsible for budget allocations (the board, presumably).

To put it another way: Who are are you upset with, exactly?

[Ted]

How big a deal is this, really? I assume that the superintendent's office has a budget for meals and entertainment. How much is allocated for that, and is $16,000 wildly out of proportion for two years' worth of expenditures? If it is, there's a legitimate complaint to make with the superintendent. But if the spending is in line with the budget, and you're just unhappy with the amount spent, then you need to take your grievance to whoever is responsible for budget allocations (the board, presumably).

  In the grand scheme of things, $16K is peanuts when looking at a deficit in the millions of dollars.

  But, I think there should be a reasonable correlation between the expense and the superintendent's or employee's duties.

To me, charging in $1.74 for a cup of coffee from Dunkin' Donuts has no correlation to the superintendent's or employee's duties.

To me, eating out every Thursday at Paisan's or eating out a Bodhi Thai every month or eating out at fancy restaurants downtown and expecting the tax payer to pay for all of this is too much.  Just because the BOE budgeted it doesn't mean it should be abused.  There should be a reasonable correlation between the expense and the duties of the superintendent.

   And, given the deficit is in the $6 million dollar range, I think it behooves the superintendent and employees to be more careful about their spending practices. Just because the money is in the budget doesn't mean you should eat out every week and expect the tax payer to pay for it.

  I can see a Christmas dinner once a year.  But, to eat out every other day or every week and expect the tax payer to pay for it is a bit much.

  Here is my feeling on meal expenses - People buy breakfast, lunch and dinner every day.  It is part of your every day experience. It is not job related.  The tax payer should not have to pay for it unless the expense is related to the job duties of the superintendent or employee.

To put it another way: Who are are you upset with, exactly?

  There are a few of the charges that I am upset with and which I think are unethical.

First, I think money paid to the superintendent's church (Willow Creek church) is wrong.  The superintendent can say it is a budgeted item and the board approves payables every month, but I doubt the board knew that some generic budgeted item was going to be used to send money to the superintendent's church.

Second, I think it is unethical to charge in parking lot fees and meals for the Apple Conferences.  Since the superintendent is being re-imbursed for speaking at Apple conferences, the board (and its lawyers) have decided that the superintendent can speak at Apple conferences as long as it is on his own time (he takes vacation or sick days) and on Apple's dime (Apple pays the costs).

  Yet, while Apple has paid for air fare and hotel costs, the superintendent has charged in parking lot fees at O'Hare and meals in Cupertino and San Francisco while at the confernce.

I think that is unethical.  Either Apple should pay those costs or the superintendent should.  I don't think the tax payer should.

Finally, there are several meal expenses that were charged in that I find questionable.  For example, in March of 2013, the superintendent had lunch/dinner at Capri restaurant with two candidates running for the school board but who were not yet on the board.  The dinner was $48.41 and the superintendent charged in the meal.

I think that is unethical.  If the superintendent wants to meet with candidates running, that's fine.  It's a free country.  But, since they are not employees of the district or on the board, I don't think the tax payer should pay for it.

  Ultimately, this is a BOE issue.  It's not about whether these meals were budgeted or the payables approved or what the lawyers say.

  It will be whether voters in a referenda election will see some of these expenses as an abuse and over-doing it and how the voters would react to them in an election.

Remember Klingenberg.  I would guess those expenses were budgeted and approved by the D201 board and not large in the grand scheme of things..

  The voters didn't give a damn.  They viewed those expenses as excessive and an abuse of the office.

  I guess we'll see if the D100 voters in March feel the same way.

[OakParkSpartan]

Sounds like D100 really needs to take a hard look at their expense reimbursement policy.

Why a cup of coffee from Dunkin Donuts is a business expense, especially when it is not travel, seems to indicate their expense policy is out of whack.

Has anyone ASKED what the payments to that church are for?  How do people in Berwyn know what church he attends?

[Ted]

Has anyone ASKED what the payments to that church are for?  How do people in Berwyn know what church he attends?

I have a question for District 100 employees that may read BTF -

Is it true that a guy from Willow Creek Church comes in to the district to give a "pep talk" to the staff during which he plays the harmonica and "praises the Lord" ?

If that is true, is it also true that that person gets re-imbursed by the district?

And, does the re-imbursement come out of the training budget?

I'm asking because that's what I have heard from someone involved in the district.

[chandasz]

I am actively trying to find out about the church payments... Will report back when I find out

[Ted]

I am actively trying to find out about the church payments... Will report back when I find out

Make sure you get an explanation for ALL 6 of the payments - there were 6 payments in FY12, ranging from $79 to the high hundreds of dollars.

[hhughes]

Ted,

You are my HERO, you do a GREAT JOB exposing bad people and so many are grateful.  Looking into Berwyn D100 hopefully the people in that town will get rid of such a blood sucking money hungry bad person, Stan Fields.  Why did they ever hire him when there was so much out there about how bad he was before he was hired.  Who did not do their homework.  Just like now they hired a person to be an assistant principal and she doesn't even have her type 75.  She is just starting school for it now.  Is that legal hope they really look into all of D100 and check out where all their money has really gone, and all the things that they are being allowed to do that is not right.  So many very unhappy teachers in Berwyn, who hope you will be able to bring forth all that people really need to know.  I plan to come to the next Board meeting to meet you Ted you are awesome thank you for not being afraid to speak up!

[Ted]

I am actively trying to find out about the church payments... Will report back when I find out

Chandasz, while you're at it, you should ask about the purchases from the "Seeds New Life in Christ" bookstore that is at the same location at the Willow Creek Church.

I would be interested in hearing what DVDs and books were purchased there and why the tax payer should have to pay for it.

  Here is a description of the book store:

Seeds Bookstore

Providing resources to educate, encourage, and empower

Seeds is a bookstore/resource center that offers encouragement and learning through the sale of Bibles, small group studies, Christian fiction for children and adults, music by Christian artists, greeting cards, and other Christian resources. Foreign language resources, including Bibles, books, and music, are also available through Seeds. The bookstore is located on the third floor, above the Atrium, on the west side of the main building.

Seeds also reproduces messages onto CD and DVD, from services at both Willow Creek South Barrington and Casa de Luz. These DVDs and CDs are available for purchase aftere each service, and are made available to churches and Christian organizations across the country and overseas.

The Seeds Online Resource Center (SORCe) offers online ordering of a broad assortment of books and resources, including message CDs and DVDs.